Route: NE RidgeInfo: Today a friend and I climbed Rinker Peak and Twin Peaks from CO 82. This was a 12 hour day as we had to break trail all the way to treeline and it seemed no one had ever been up there in a long time.
Anyone know when Rinker was last climbed?
Anyway, it took us 5 hours to break that steep NE ridge which we started right off the highway near Twin Lakes. 2.5 hours later we summitted after heading over Twin Peaks. To our surprise there was no wind too speak of and the sun was out all day. Actually it was very warm. 7.5 hours up, 4 hours down. Plunging down our trench we made was very entertaining!
Currently, there is now a 2-3 foot deep trench all the way up this ridge. Above treeline the class 2 and Class 2+ sections were not bad at all. Most of the area above treeline on this ridge was free of snow. We ditched the snowshoes at treeline. Too bad lots of snow will be falling tomorrow night...guess we get exclusive rights to this one hehe!
We chose to do this peak as this route is pretty safe from avy dangers and it is an important bi-centennial...a list I may eventually finish after finishing the centennials this year.
Happy climbing,
Matt

Route: Willis GulchInfo: No good no bueno. The bridge at the Willis Gulch TH is out. There is a replacement bridge sitting there but it will not be installed until October per the FS. Alternate ways to cross the creek are as follows:
1) About 1/6 mile west on CO 82, there are two pull offs that will accommodate a handful of vehicles. There is a Gaging Station here and a foot bridge that will take you across.
2) About 1/2 mile west on CO 82, there is access from the Parry campground. The FS advises you to contact the host at the campground because parking is limited. There might be a $5 day use fee as well.
Image 1: old bridge
Image 2: the void
Image 3: new bridge